[Part I.]
[OOC: Thread]

Monday, July 21st 2072. 05:45:00 Hours. Vancouver, Salish Shidhe Council.
-Downtown, Vancouver.

Vera Renczi finds herself awake in the morning. She is up before dawn. Once again she finds herself in Vancouver. It is the summer time, a period of almost perpetual daylight in this city. The sun rises before 06:00:00 and often does not set until 21:00:00. The orange rays from the sun are shining down on the city. Covering the homeless and destitute with a blanket of beauty to start their day. The image will not last long. It never lasts long. The rain will come. It always comes in the awakened world. It has been five months since Vera's last visit to this city north of Seattle. Even though the news surrounding Vancouver had been relatively quiet, there was a darker feel to the metroplex. The metahumans who greeted her at the airport were quieter more subdued, less polite, had been less fake.

Her current residence, a two story penthouse apartment suite in Downtown Vancouver. Courtesy of Kyle Hotshida and Angelic Entertainment. This suite is reserved for VIP guests of the Saeder Krupp subsidiary. Looking outside, she finds a breathtaking view of Downtown Vancouver. The apartment complex is easily one of the tallest buildings in the city. The bottom floor houses multiple bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, and a living room. There is a winding staircase which leads up to the bedroom, a grand bathroom with a hot tub, and a study room. Thee entire apartment is colored in a cream white, except for the study room which houses a grand piano and a view that opens up the city before her. It is this room where Vera currently is.

[Study Room of the Apartment.]

<<"Good Morning Vera. Current outdoor temperature 23.88 C.">>


At the present moment, the condition of the penthouse suite is compatible with your settings. The kitchen is stocked with the foods you ordered and there is a bottle of Bordeaux, Chateau Le Pin Pomerol 2052 awaiting your activities for this evening.

• Today's Headlines
• Crashcart Medical Services is planning to announce it's opening of a new hospital in Burnaby this afternoon. CEO Melissa Ranshandani will be on hand for the news conference. The arrival of Crashcart over the past year has broken Doc Wagon's Monopoly in the City...
• The seven lost tracks from musical legend Jet Black continues to be number one on internet downloads and musical commlink sales around the world. Angelic Entertainment Industries continues to net a large profit form their diamond. The record was released two months ago and continues to be....
• Two more victims were found dead this morning in Downtown Vancouver. Jennifer Pannell and Matilda Patla were found murdered at Ling's Noodle House. Their bodies were torn open and drained of blood.. Long Star attributes this to the latest rash of murders that have been infesting Vancouver. Jennifer and Matilda are victims seven and eight of this now dubbed the "Viscera Killer"

A small icon glows in the corner of her commlink. Incoming Itinerary for the day.

-Meeting with Mr. Johnson at 07:00:00 via Augmented Reality. Node 0927-1986 on Vancouver's BBB system.
-Self Defense class with Bubbles, 10:00:00
-Firearms lessons. Harrison Dane, 13:00:00

Three days ago Kyle Hotshida of Angelic Entertainment had contacted her while she was in Seattle about a potential job. Hotshida had been the board member and producer who had helped her a few months ago during the Ari Tarkasian betrayal. Now he had called her, requested a favor for a friend. He gave her very little details other then he had passed on information about her talents to a colleague, who in turn wanted to meet her. The interview was to be conducted through the matrix in a little over an hour. Would she be able to trust Hotshida?

Monday, July 21st 2072. 05:45:00 Hours. Vancouver, Salish Sidhe Council.
-Downtown, Vancouver.

The apartment was sumptuous for Vera. The fridge filled with a careful selection from food boutiques. The bottle of wine, which cost about 1500 nuyen was also a nice crowning touch. Nonetheless the whole place was owned by Saeder-Krupp's subsidiary and that on some level unnerved Vera.

She liked that it was anonymous in its design, a holding place for Angelic Entertainment's prized possessions. She had looked for the cameras that are usual for a place like this and had found some. While brushing her hair she had heard the discomforting sound of a camera motor trying to focus through the steam. It still felt like a prison, no matter how gilded the cage was.

Perhaps Hotshida would review the tapes and would pretend she was his wife for the evening. These though were idle thoughts. Everyone in the sixth world wass monitored, seen on many cameras in many places. It was almost impossible to avoid being captured by in some media somewhere.

Besides, Vera trusted Hotshida, in the sense of the money she had brought in with the optical disc she had given to them and for past loyalties. He had trusted her in the beginning so she was going to extend to him the same courtesy.

Now she was sitting on the sofa on the second floor, still wrapped in her towel from her gently massaged shower. The half of a honey filled croissant still lay on the plate on the coffee table and she held on to her coffee cup. The great tempo war had meant that Brazilian coffee had become available again, and it was its soft taste which she had missed.

She placed the coffee cup on the table and relaxed, her body staying poised, but her mind slipping far off into the Matrix.

It was oppressively hot as she sat siddle-saddled on the donkey, the reigns held by the farmer down the road. She was wearing a corset, long brocaded gaily colored skirts and a heavily goldwireworked veil on her head to keep her very long hair wrapped. She looked behind at the road and into the shimmering heat, far off in the distance was the small fishing village.

The elderly nun looked at her with a frown on her face through the loophole on the small cut door of the larger gate. She seemed to move very slowly, almost as if debating with herself, before unlocking, unbolting the door and letting Vera in to the cool confines of the nunnery. The nun strode through, nun in black and white habits looking at her from awning curiously, as Vera held up her laced handkerchief. It smelled lightly of rubbed orange as she walked over into the chapel.

The matronly nun pointed at the nun kneeling on the floor before Jesus and firmly walked away. The nun's keys clanking in her hand and the iron clad shoes making harsh sounds over the flagstone floor.

Vera calmly waited until the nun had finished praying. She had blue eyes, watered down features and a calloused, tanned skin that came from many hours working in the field. She was like many of the other nuns here. She could have been 20 or 60, such were her features.

Finally she rose from her position and turned to Vera and motioned her to follow. They walked out through another door into a vegetable garden. The July heat, mixed with the smell of ripe vegetables and fruit.

Vera smiled at the nun politely and said, "It's nice seeing you again sister Spiritus."

"One could suppose, come walk with me." They walked along the neat rows of vegetables as she critically eyed them.

Vera continued on with her initial proposal, "I would wish to use your services, I have a meeting with someone in an hour, on the hour, and I would like to make sure that there is nothing untoward with the meeting. Possibly even finding out his name."

"The tomatoes are certainly coming along nicely." She picked up a tomato and held it out for Vera.

Vera held it in her hand turning it around and took a tentative bite, the taste was an exquisite combination of the rich earth, the hot son, and juicy from careful watering.

"Can you help me out? I will make my usual payment." Vera held up a leather purse of coins.

"Very well. Keep using this commlink and I will seek you out and I will make sure that nothing untoward is forced on you." Spiritus calmly walked away, leaving Vera in the garden.

Vera raised her eyes, focusing them back on the apartment she was in. Her body was sweat stained as if she had come directly from the hot Italian gardens. She went back to clean hrself up and prepare for her meeting in one hour.

Vera was dressed smartly for the meeting. It was always preferred that when she required the services of Spiritus to cover and behave herself. Spiritus was an excellent technomancer, but also a strong believer in Christianity and what is proper between man and woman and would probably take offense to Vera's sinful behavior, if ever found out about it.

Monday, July 21st 2072. 06:50:00 Hours. The Wireless World.
-Private Node, 0927-1986.

<<"Vera, it is time.">>

It was the voice of Spiritus. The technomancer did not need tell Vera whether or not the node had was secure. If it was not safe, the old nun would have not contacted Vera.

The world around Vera faded into a white light. A camera flash going in slow motion, heading towards her. She was enveloped by it and when she was able to see again, there was beautiful countryside before her. She was standing in a grassy knoll, one full of yellow sunflowers and dandelions waiting for their sepals to be blown away. The sky above was clear and sky blue, the type of weather you would find on a perfect day. There were clouds above her, but they did not seem to far for she could make out the formation and breaking apart of each wisp. Behind Vera there is a one story French Villa, surrounded by a cobble stone fence which only went up to her waist. And behind the house was a vineyard that stretched for miles on in.

From what she could see, the Villa was isolated from the rest of the town, because she could only notice small buildings in the distance. There was a dirt road leading from the town which drove by her farm. Vera was dressed in a simple long dress, ragged clothing, befitting of a young girl who lived in a poor village from 1940, something like this. With a mere thought, she knew her attire could change into anything she wanted.

Even though this was virtual reality in 2072, everything seemed so real. All the five sense came alive. She could smell the pollen, take in the fresh country air, feel the cool breeze, taste the fresh fruit, and hear the quick footsteps of a dog approaching her from the Villa. The dog in question was a Border Collie. The ideal dog to find on a farm or a vineyard. The pets tail wagged as she approached Vera, circling around the Shadowrunner before kneeling besides her. It was Spiritus in her matrix persona form for this node.

The Border Collie began to bark as a black 1942 German Military car came towards the Villa from a distance. The car's roof was down, so it was in convertible form, the hubcaps were free of any sort of blemish. The car stopped in front of the Villa.

There were two men inside of it. One was a driver, wearing a hard helmet. The driver exited the car walked around the hood, carrying a German MP-40 Machine gun in hand. Vera's Border Collie began to growl. The other man sitting in the passenger side, got out of the car on his own accord. He was wearing the uniform of a Nazi SS Officer. Black in color from the boots, hat, and belt. There were many medals adorned to his lapel. A silver sheathed dagger hung from his belt, and on the other side of his belt there was a holster with a Walther PPK pistol. All that was missing from the entire uniform was the red swastika.

The SS Officer walked through the grassy knoll, heading towards Vera while the drive stayed with the car. From the distance she can see that the body of the officer was that of a man who appeared to be in his mid twenties. He walked slowly. He walked with a purpose. When he came close enough, he had a very familiar face. It was the face of Thomas Galloway. He stopped a few meters shy of Vera and Spiritus, and for the first time Vera noticed that the Villa and herself were on a hill, thus Galloway was looking up at her.

He studied her for a few moments. Galloway looked two or three years younger. Even though this was Virtual Reality and his expression appeared unmoved, Vera could still sense an emotion coming from him. This went on for a few moments before he relented, his eyes lost their intensity, his lips relaxed. He offered her a small smile which was followed by a gentleman's bow.

[Galloway's relaxed expression.]

When he finally spoke, he spoke in German, and his emotion was positive, pleasant, friendly. He spoke to her as if nothing had happened, or as if he had not recognized who she was.

"Hello Miss. Thank you for taking time to meet with me. You may call me Mr. Johnson. Kyle speaks very highly of you. He says you are one of the best. I am interested in hiring you for two jobs. Both which needed to be completed in a week. Both assignments require finesse, and I am not looking to attract a lot of attention or make a scene."

Galloway pauses. Reading her mind as if she was asking "What type of jobs are they?" Clearing his throat, he continues.

"I would like to hire you to kill two people."

Vera scratched behind the ears of the border collie, eyeing Galloway as the Teuton of an evil empire past. If Galloway looked younger, here in VR Vera looked even moreso. She had the body and face of a sixteen year old, with two long brunette pigtails resting over her shoulders. Her clothes were dusty, but her face had been scrubbed clean so that it had a pinkness to it.

She continued to scratch the border collie behind the ears as she asked in a French accent, "who do you want me to kill and how much are you willing to pay me for it?"

In the small town, there was activity. The German army was gathering, the sounds of tanks, jeeps, and motorcycles turing on could be heard from their position in the Matrix.

Galloway turned his head slowly to notice the increased movement in the French community. He turned to Vera, and her persona.

"Forgive me." He began. "You are a guest on my lands. Would you be like to continue our conversation inside the Villa or go for a walk through the vineyard? The grapes should be ripe and I have some fresh milk in the Villa. In a few minute a convey will be passing through this road, and I would hate for it to disrupt our conversation?.

The Border Collie stood up from her kneeled position, standing on all fours, the dog was tense for an instant. Spiritus stared at Galloway before Vera heard the voice.

"It should be safe to go with him my dear. This man has some hacking ability and the soldier is one of his programs. I have inspected his matrix activity and discovered that his trail is secure. I assume he is running a spoofing program. I am also in the process of analyzing his profile and should have information on who he is in 5 minutes."

Galloway stood poised, awaiting her answer.

Vera stopped scratching the border collie. "I thought you were the guest on my lands." Her mouth quirked at the comment and stood up brushing off her hands. "Perhaps a walk through the vineyards would be nice."

She stood and walked with him to the vineyards next to the villa. "So, tell me more of this business you would wish me to do."

Monday, July 21st 2072. 07:10:00 Hours. The Wireless World.
-Private Node, 0927-1986.

The handsome military officer smiled at the young girl who lived off the land. He removed his military cap and tucked it underneath an arm before making his way up the hill towards the villa. Vera noticed that his hair was brown and short, exactly how it was when she met him a few months ago. She had already turned to walk towards the Villa, but within a few steps, Galloway was walking beside her.

Spiritus ran ahead of them, through the yard and towards the smell of berries that came from the garden. They walked underneath a shaded area provided by a giant oak tree that was right next to the Villa.

"It is a delicate situation." Galloway began, ducking underneath a branch in the process "Last week I hired a pair of street samurai's to eliminate a particular member of the White Tiger Triads. The pair botched the job, and had gotten themselves killed in the process. However, they did manage to wound their target severely."

They passed through the shaded area and walked through a small entrance in the cobble stoned fence, wide enough for two. The pair walked slowly upon grass which felt so comfortable, that he wanted to remove his boots and walk bear foot.

"He is currently recovering in a Crash Cart medical facility south of here, in the Richmond portion of Vancouver. I would like to pay you to relieve me of this burden. The pay for this will be 20,000 nuyen. I would like the man to die of natural causes if it is possible. We did an excellent job of distancing ourselves from the two street samurai's and if he were to die because of his wounds, it would complete the assignment."

[Vineyard]

The Vineyard was breathtaking. The rows of plants were even and structured. Not one imperfection in it's formation. Like disciplined marines standing in rows during a drill. The bushes were tall and healthy, the grapes large and full of color. The sky was sunless, yet still bright. The imaging belonged in a painting. A lake appeared ahead of them. There was another large oak tree as well, with a swing. They were in the far distance though.

Galloway and Vera started to head towards one of the rows. The Border Collie stopped it's trot and waited for them to catch up.

"This is the first concern that I have. Before hearing the second, I would like for you to tell me what you think so far."

The vineyard was nice and neat. The oak tree did give a nice respite to the cloudless weather.


Vera stopped for a second and walked up to meet the order collie, "So I am supposed to breach Crashcart's ICU in a week, to kill a person who is in critical condition there from natural causes, possible surrounded by Triad members. That's possible, but the bribes I will have to pay are steep, which also makes it a hard job to do for the money offered. I'll do it for 15,000 nuyen. What about the second one?"

She had a good point, and a good argument. Galloway and Vera stopped just before entering the enclosure.

"Twenty-Five thousand nuyen. Deal. The second is a little more challenging. It involves murdering an important Corporate employee of the Evo Corporation. They will be in town for the next week and will arrive in Vancouver two days from now. I would like for them and their body to go missing, permanently. This job pays 35,000 nuyen. How does half up front, half upon completion of both jobs sound to you?"

Vera looked at Galloway with hard eyes, "I'll do it for 40,000. I like nice round, evenly divided sums. Who are these two targets? I need a bit more than generalities. Crashcart has more than one gangster under a false name at its Richmond facility at the moment."

The last part was an educated guess and not a lie. Crashcart serves like most corps anyone with money irrespective of the origins of its money.

His eyes remained dulcet and fluid.

"Forty-Thousand? Kyle speaks highly of you, but 65,000 nuyen is a lot of money for us to pay for this project. I am tempted to offer you the disclosed amount, but you have to tell me why. What makes you so different from your competitors?"

He answered her question.


"The name of the two targets does not come until we have come to a financial agreement. I give you the names, you don't accept the job, and then that threatens my position."

Vera looked at the man with the mask of Galloway. It could be him, but it could as well be a digital construct. She bides her time so that his true identity can become apparent.

"I have never failed a mission. I have never betrayed a Johnson. I have a reputation of being very quiet about the work I do. You will not find someone as good as me. If I need any assistance I will hire it and pay for it personally. This conversation already precludes acceptance. This is not an employee issue, I do not have the luxury of trade unions and contracts. That is why people pay me - for the results."

The black and white dog sniffed the grass behind the pair. She was particularly fascinated with an indention in the grass left by Galloway's combat boot. The border collie's paws silently made their way to Vera, gliding across the grass while Vera spoke her Johnson. Information began to filter in front of her. A set of lights and written words between herself and Galloway. It appeared as this information was only for her eyes.

Subject Name: Devin Conner.
Age: 27
Date of Birth: 9/27/45
Height: 6'3
Weight: 185 lbs
Occupation: Saeder Krupp's Director of Medical Research Facility Development. Pacific Northwest.

From Spiritus: I will need more time to gather additional information.

Spiritus made her way to sit beside Vera. Galloway and Vera stood at the entrance way to the center aisle of the vineyard. The Nazi SS Officer stood poised and straight, yet his expression and demeanor continued to display relaxation. Listening to Vera, he thought a moment before responding. She was right. He knew he was going to hire her before meeting in the Vineyard.

"I know what you are capable of, and I agree with your monetary request. Sixty-five thousand nuyen. Thirty five-thousand up front, the other thirty-five thousand upon completion."

Vera nodded in response. Galloway hands her a small basket, and beckons for her to follow him into the vineyard. She does. Walking a few steps behind him. The Border Collie follows, catching up to make sure she stays between the two of them. Galloway takes a grape from a vine and squeezes it in between his fingers, pushing out all of the pulp. He then chews the skin, looking for the greenness and acidity.

“Now would be the perfect time to strike. Let me begin with bachelor number two. The Evo Corporate executive. His name is Tarek Belanger. He is an architect and lead developer for Crash Cart's medical facility that is in its infant production stages. As we speak he is finalizing details of the project somewhere in Europe, and he will be arriving in Vancouver on Thursday. Evo has provided him with a residence somewhere on Victoria Island, and he will be attending numerous social functions in Victoria over the weekend.”

Galloway picks a stem of purple grapes and places them in Vera' basket. A picture and short biography of Tarek appears in front of Vera. The picture rotates in front of her as she walks through this 1942 French scene. A female automated voice reads the biography for her.







Galloway continues to stroll through the vineyard. He basks in the artificial Sun. Turning back at Vera, his smile at her. It is as if he believes in her abilities 100% percent without fail. But is that really the case? He explains the second portion of the job.

"Your first target will be a Vanguard of the White Tiger Triads. His name is Lawrence Wong. He is currently in the Crash Cart's intensive care unit in Richmond, Salish Shide. He was admitted there as of this morning and will be staying there until his wounds heal."

Galloway reaches over her shoulder, staring and smiling at her the entire time. He removes another group of grapes from a branch and places them in Vera's basket. The information filters in front of her, like a movie.







Galloway continues to gaze at Vera as she reads the profiles. When it looks like she finishes he asks.

"Any questions?"

Vera thinks for a while and then responds.

"Could you deposit the funds in my account? Furthermore, do you possess any resources that I may utilise?"

"You'll find that they have already been deposited into your account."

The ground begins to shake, and the sounds of a military convey could be heard, driving pass the villa.

Galloway does not flinch. He waits for the convey to move by before continuing.

"Kyle will help you within reason. He is my liason in Vancouver. You'll find that both of us are very generous."

She hears the voice of Spiritus.

"Odd. An unscheduled matrix sweep is happening as we speak. It appears as if he has placed us in a private area within the node. I am working on finding us a way out of this cube."

Vera looked at Galloway and then down at the ground bashfully. She looked back At Galloway through her lashes, "I am sure you both can be very generous."

She looked at him in the eyes, "was there something else on your mind for having met the way we have?"

Galloway's facial articulation can only be described as tender, gentle, loving. The officer places a hand underneath her chin, and props her head up. He admires her meekness and innocence that she had once shared with him. He wanted to give her a chance. He wanted to fulfill her dreams.

Thomas Galloway leaned forward and kissed Vera's lower lip very gently.

And then suddenly. He grabs her jaw with a firm hand, and begins to squeeze. In her penthouse apartment, Vera can feel him placing pressure on her jaw, lifting her neck up, so that they are looking eye to eye.

The Border Collie growls at Galloway. Vera notices his eyes. They displayed a feral anger. The same feral anger they showed when they were making love on the Yacht.

"Yes. If you betray me once again. I will burn your body and bury the ashes in a graveyard no one remembers."

Spiritus begins to bark loudly. Bark with anger and growl. Vera does not feel any pain through the matrix, just his rough hands clenching her jaw. Galloway pushes her away, releasing his grip. Spiritus immediately jumps in between them. Galloway places his cap back, and then turns to leave. He begins his ascension through the vineyard and back to the Villa. Vera can still hear his voice..

"In seven days I am expecting results."

Vera closed her eyes to Galloway and opened them in the apartment. Memories carefully kept compartmentalized started to leak, emotions sought for dominance before being carefully put back into their place. She had her answer, discomforting as it was. Galloway was alive. He probably sought to have her fail. One of them was most likely the real target, the other simply his way of killing her off. She would need help.

She smiled to herself and went into the bedroom, she picked out a suitable outfit as she formulated a proper advertisement for the help she would need.

<<Module for encryption>>
Seeking up to 3 Shadowrunners for a specialist infiltration job. Have to be locals or able to blend into the local populace in Vancouver. Seeking 1 Matrix specialist, 1 weapons specialist, 1 infiltration specialist. Medical expertise considered an advantage. The job will consist of two objectives which will be conducted over the course of the week. The reward for the mission will be 3,000 nuyen per person upon completion of both objectives. Location for possible meet supplied in second encrypted module.
<<Enclosed secondary module with restaurant location, time and which table.>>

Monday, July 21st 2072. 08:35:00 Hours. Vancouver, Salish Shidhe Council.
-Downtown, Vancouver.

After sending out her advertisement on the local Shadowrun bulletin boards, Vera is able to catch a glimpse of a journalistic feature story. The topic for discussion, Crash Cart's plans to open up a new hospital in Burnaby Vancouver. They make mention of the costs of the facility, how it will be good for the economy by stimulating job growth, and the local community. The feature is obviously a public relations stunt on the behalf of Evo to garnet community support for the project.

At 10:00:00 hours she has an appointment with Bubbles, Judo and MMA class with the large troll. She spends time going over a list of her contacts. One's that she would be able to use for this excursion. Sunny, Rex, Andrew, Wan Kuok-Koi, and perhaps Delphia come to mind come to mind. She is set to meet Bubbles at the Hound's Lair martial arts gym in about two hours.

Her commlink begins to buzz. A augmented display illuminates from the device. There is a private LTG number. There is a user name though. And a matching face. Kyle Hotshida. The board member of Angelic Entertainment and current host. It appears he is calling from his office.

Monday, July 21st 2072. 08:45:00 Hours. Vancouver, Salish Shidhe Council.
-Downtown, Vancouver.

After the phone call Vera reviewed the phone log, seeing if there was anything she had missed.

Things which were interesting to note is that Galloway had never mentioned a chip, but it was obviously something he was aware of. She would have to carefully manoeuvre herself between these two employers to make sure both would be satisfied at the end. She had several meetings before her afternoon meetings with the prospective Shadowrunners. She hoped that they would be professional quality and not have to rely on Kyle Hotshida and his people.

Monday, July 21st 2072. 09:30:00 Hours. Vancouver, Salish Shidhe Council.
-Downtown, Vancouver.

The built in commlink into her dark shaded glasses flickers. Putting them on, she finds a purple message with automated voice come into her image.

<<Now waiting downstairs. Location. Three meters from the lobby.

Name: Bubbles.
Race: Troll.
Height: 6'8.
Weight: 325 lbs
Occupation: Bodyguard.>>

Bubbles "Bodyguard to the Stars" was waiting for Vera downstairs. He was here to pick her up for a 10:00:00 martial arts class. A few months ago, Vera had been in Vancouver working a job for an elf by the name of Ari Tarkasian. She had been hired to steal a data disc containing valuable musical files from a Horizon Vice President by the name of Thomas Galloway. Tarkasian had other plans. He had sent two elves to frame Vera for the death of Galloway and then dispose of her. Vera managed to escape the ambush by diving into a cabin room and using a fire extinguisher to distract a psychotic elf armed with a machine pistol. Galloway had managed to shoot the elf in the chest with a light pistol and Vera had finished off the perverted assailant by beating his brains in with the extinguisher. When she told this story to Bubbles, he immediately convinced her into trying out self-defense classes to avoid further situations. Vera only agreed to this condition if he became her instructor.

No one knew Bubble's real name. They simply called him Bub, or Bubbles. He was a veteran to the shadows, and semi-retired. An old Troll pushing into his late 30s. At the age of nine-teen Bubbles had worked security for a few Maria Mercurial concerts and from there had worked as a private bodyguard for pro--athletes including Tamara Ny and Jonathan Winger of the 2057 LA Sabers' Combat Biker Championship team. Bubbles knew how to conduct himself in the life of the filthy rich, and mega-famous. When Vera made her way into the lobby of the apartment building, she was greeted by the door dwarf, dressed in a red velvet suit. He greeted Vera, as she walked through the blue marble stoned ground level floor.

Making her way outside, she saw Bubbles and a silver Eurocar Westwind 2072 parked in front of the building. The troll had just shaved his head, making him look a four years younger. Still, Vera could make out the wrinkles on his forehead and the natural white hairs sprouting from the stubs of the beard that was beginning to grow. Bubbles was adorned in a blue Ares "Lionheart" Apparel dress shirt and matching light brown khakis. Hanging on his left wrist was a golden super rolex watch, with internal commlink. He gave Vera the "All clear" sign, and promptly had the passenger door open to the luxury car.

<<Text from Bubbles: We're all clear Vera. Louis, has given us the sign that they are no mini-drones or intercepting wireless traffic in the area. It's game time, ready to kick some ass?"

Once inside the car, they began pulling away. Bubbles in the driver's seat. They head towards the waterfront, and towards the Hound's Lair.

"Hey, Rex informed me of the advertisement you posted on the Shadowland BBS and Jackpoint. Llet me know if you would like for me act as the "Stereotypical Troll" for your meet with potential runners. Call it the older brother syndrome, but that encounter with the psychotic elves has made me a little over protective of you sweetheart, and because of that I don't trust this city anymore."

Vera sat in the back of the luxury car. Not many people would sit in the passenger seat unless it was another bodyguard as it had armored to prevent someone with a sniper rifle from taking pot shots.

"Hi Bubbles, nice to see you too. Yeah, I am looking for some fresh talent from the city for a job I got. Likewise with the elves, I don't trust my Johnson's honesty. It makes me sleep safer every night, so I would love to have you on hand. The meeting will be held at the West Restaurant at 6.00PM, the reservation is under the name of DeBeers."

The West was recognized as the "jewel in Vancouver's culinary crown" and its outstanding contemporary regional cuisine and seamless service has garnered much critical acclaim, including four consecutive wins as Restaurant of the Year by the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards, a prestigious four star rating by Mobil Travel Guide, and recognition as one of the "ten of the best, worldwide" by UK's Sunday Independent.

This was not a place that anyone off the street could come into and its waiting list was counted in the weeks. It was therefore natural that when she had introduced herself as Julianne DeBeers the Maitre'd assumed she was the same person as the heir to the deBeers fortune and had happily informed of a table for four being free.

"I am looking at information on a Tarek Belanger, he's an architect and engineer at Evo, but famous for being a socialite. Heard anything about him?"

Monday, July 21st 2072. 09:55:37 Hours. Vancouver, Salish Shidhe Council.
-Downtown, Vancouver.

"The West? Tight location. Cyrus the Cyclops manning the front door, good looking staff members, exotic bar, excellent matrix security, and watcher spirits patrolling the grounds. Anyone who even thinks about fucking with you will have to deal with restaurant security. Not bad kid. Not bad at all."

Bubbles approved of Vera's field insight. She had proven herself to be a reliable Shadowrunner who knew how to dot her "I" and cross the "T." There was a reason she was making good money in the Shadows, unique talents, and her keen intellect helped her stay one step ahead of the opposition. Needless to say, the veteran bodyguard respected his contact.

"Belanger? Never heard of him. There might be a underwear model who can help you at the gym. Rich kid, grew up in a wealthy family, runs with the social elite in Vancouver."

The silver Eurocar Westwind arrived at the Hound's Lair. The Hound's Lair gym is a circular shaped dome located on the waterfront. The facility was less then a year old, and housed the most talented Ultimated Meta-Fighters in Northern Salishe Shidhe. Vancouver in 2072 is a very affluent city, where non-elves leaving near Seattle migrated to get away from the busy metroplex. Rich Corporate types with enough money for third and fourth homes made their way to Vancouver to set up residence. Vancouver is also home to many AA Corporations who did not want to deal with the taxes, lack of space, and competition of Seattle. And being in Downtown Seattle, the Hound's Lair was an idea location for the pride of Vancouver to fight out off.

Bubbles opened up the trunk of the car and helped Vera with her gym bag. The pair walked into the fight camp. AR advertisements beamed out towards Vera about upcoming fights, fancy restaurants, dive bars, hip night clubs, hole in the wall soy-burger joints, and fighting gear which was available for purchase at the front desk. Vera immediately saw that the gym was divided into two sections. The first sectioned opened up into an area with free-weights, track mills, and various weight machines. At 10 AM in the morning, this portion of the gym was fairly empty. With only a few people working out.

The second portion of the gym was the home of the fight camp. Five caged Octagon rings spread out across the blue matted room. One ring in each corner and one in the center. Upon walking into the room she turned heads. Fighters who were training all of a sudden stopped to noticed how "hot" she looked. Bubbles gave a slight smirk. There was a well-muscled minotaur who made a telephone gesture towards one of his bent horns, and with a horse like grin, said "Call me."

In the rings fighters were training in sessions, but instead of fighting each other, the men were battling featureless digital figures, green in color and faceless. Digital opponents, computer generated enemies. Each fighter was able to select the martial art style there were fighting as well as difficulty level. There was even an option to be able to fight simulations of some of the top fighters in the world such as Michael "Bone Crusher" Rivera and Wanderli "Axe Murderer" Silva the IV. Bubbles lead her to one of the corner rings, where a human was talking with an ork. Seeing Bubbles and Vera approach, the ork gave an upward nod and a cough, and the human turned around to greet Bubbles.

"Hey Bubbles!" the human male, gave the big troll a wide smile, and shook his hands. Bubbles returned the man's handshake.

"Heya Kid. Great fight last month, I watched the entire thing down at Barrels. You helped win me beer money for the night. Doll (Speaking to Vera), I would like to introduce you to Lucas Charles, the "Golden Boy" of Vancouver fighting."

"Call me Luke, and don't believe Bubble's hype. His flattery means he is stalling on our bet which he lost so he does not have to grow his hair out into a green neon mohawk." He addressed Vera. Giving her a smile.

His commlink profile read.

<<Name: Lucas Charles
Age: 24
Height: 1.88 meters (6'2)
Weight: 171 lb (78 kg; 12.2 st)
Professional Fight Record: 5-0
Hometown: Vancouver.
Interests: Meta-human Mixed Martial Arts, Nursing, Journalism, Motorbikes, 2060's Alternative Music, Traveling.>>

[Picture of Lucas Charles]

Bubbles was right. Lucas Charles looked like he belonged on the cover of a Abercombie and Fitch or Tommy Hilfiger clothing advertisement. The definition of a pretty boy. Clean shave, smooth face, no scars or blemishes, not even a nano-tattoo. He stood over 6'0 feet tall and was well-built, but not to artificially enhanced to look like a walking testosterone fest.


<<He's the kid who can help you find Bellanger.>>

"You guys will be working out in the ring?" Lucas asked

"That's the plan rookie."

"Great. I'll be in the office if you need anything." Luke gave her a smile which was held there for more then a normal period of time. "Sorry before I head to the back to conduct an interview, I didn't not get your name."

<<Heh. After meeting underwear model, why don't you change and join me in the Octagon for the workout. I'll be warming up.>>

Bubbles headed to the locker room to change. After changing into shorts and a gym shirt, he opened up the cage door and walked into the ring.

Vera turned on the old fashioned charm and grinned at Lucas, looking him in the eye.

"Hi, my name is Vera. Nice to meet you."

She looks at Bubbles and grins a bit. "Well I have to go get changed, Bubbles does not like anyone being kept waiting."

Vera goes into the locker room and quickly changes into an Evo sports top and shorts. She joins Bubbles in one of the caged octagon rooms.

Monday, July 21st 2072. 10:00:03-11:05:16 Hours. Vancouver, Salish Shidhe Council.
-Downtown, Vancouver.

Thwak! Thwak!

"Good. Again. One. Two. Three. Right Roundhouse."

Vera was picking up the combination chair very quickly. It was a left job followed by a powerful right cross. The left hook set up the roundhouse kick to either the chest, leg, or head. The sound of her kick hitting the Muay Thai pad echoed loudly through the atrium. Despite having minimal experience with close quarters combat, Bubbles noticed what Vera lacked in training, she made up for in instinct. You see for a fighter, instinct is such an important aspect of being in the ring or being in a real fight. If you begin to think, you tense up. If you tense up, you telegraph your moves and the opponent is able to anticipate everything you plan to attack them with. On the other side of the spectrum if you're to lax, you won't be able to fight with the same ferocity and power it takes to win. You'll settle for a good show, over the results. In a fight over life or death that wouldn't cut it. Vera had the natural instinct. The perfect blend. She knew when to attack, where to attack, and how hard to hit without thinking to much. She initiated and counterattacked with impeccable timing.

The troll and elf circled each other in the ring. Bubbles was an entire foot and a few inches taller then Vera. He also weighed three times as much as her. But the pads he was holding were giant size, thus providing an easy target for the vixen. He was holding a pair of old school Fuchi Fairtex Muay Thai pads on his hands, matching shin guards on his legs, and headgear. Vera threw out a another combo. This time a right cross, left hook, right cross, into two left roundhouse kicks.

Thwak! Thwak!

"Looking great kid. Looking great. Burn it out and then we're done."

Listening to her trainer, Vera finished off the training with a succession of jabs and crosses against the pads. She was fast and accurate. Bubbles had opened up the training session with a warm up with a half hour of jump roping, push-ups, squats, and abdominal crunches. The moment she stepped into the ring the eyes of many of the male fighters were set on her. During their cool down times or in between an exercise, the fighters would look over to the corner where she was training to catch a glimpse. This included Lucas Charles who was working out in the center of the large area. Vera had a great body that was beginning to become more athletic as she continued her training with Big Bubbles. I'll leave it to your imagination, but for you Shadowrun fanboys out there I have one name for you. "Sally Tsung."

Thwak

The last cross impacted with the pad very loudly. Bubbles let out a "Woo." after she was done and patted her on the shoulder, signaling for her to take a water break. The blue electric static and energy around their cage dimmed down. In 2072 mixed martial arts had involved into a fighting spectacular. You had many different leagues and federations. There were the 'purist' who believed in traditional martial arts fighting with no side shows or gimmicks. Un-augmented fights with the many different weight classes still in tact. Then there was the Augmented Awakened Leagues which included enhanced cybereware, bioware, and awakened fighters battling it out in cages surrounded by fires, electricity, and other technical pyrotechnics to make the event more exciting. There was also different meta-humans who downloaded skill sets from the famous fighters in the past. So you could essentially have a Chuck Liddel 2004 vs. Anderson Silva 2008 in the same ring. Or a Mike Tyson 1987 vs. Bob Sapp 2002 superbrawl. To put it simply, mixed martial arts in 2072 was a big business ruled by the iron hand of corporate sponsors and politics.

While Vera was resting, she caught a glimpse of Lucas Charles turning his head to look at her a brief moment, distracted from what his dwarf coach "Mad Dog" Jerome Jackson was barking in his ear. They exchanged a few more words before Mad Dog gave him a ten minute break. Lucas toweled off and made his way over to Vera.

He smiled at her when she noticed him and she reciprocated.

"Hey Vera. How was your workout?"

Vera took a swish of water, her body pouring sweat out as she tried not to get up and pace off all the pent-up energy "Hi Lucas, ask me tonight when all my muscles are sore. I use a combination of tiger balm, but I am still sore afterwards."

She stopped and grinned, "As an old mentor used to say, 'pain is only weakness leaving the body'. You seemed a little distracted there or at least Mad Dog is giving us the evil eye at the moment."

Lucas Charles gave her a nervous laugh. He noticed the firmness of her body, and her belly button which was showing between her outfit. He let a comfortable moment pass before continuing the conversation.

"I am a little distracted, all this talk about tiger palm, and muscles beings sore from an attractive woman. How can any man stand a chance? Funny you should mention tonight. I was wondering if you would be free for dinner today or sometime this week?"

Vera sees Bubbles motioning to her to get started again, "Sure I am free for dinner tonight. Which restaurant? Say at 8.30 PM?"

She sends his PAN her commlink details. She turns a few steps away and says,

"Send me the info when you can."

She partially runs back to Bubbles, who looks at her as if she is having far too much fun for her own good. Training continues but with much more speed and snap to it.

Monday, July 21st 2072. 10:35:45-11:05:16 Hours. Vancouver, Salish Shidhe Council.
-Downtown, Vancouver. The Hound's Lair Dojo.

Resting his arms on the top of the Octagon, Lucas Charles watches Vera train for the duration of his ten minute break. He gives her a lot of praise for her footwork and technique. There is one moment where Bubbles teases his pupil a little bit by quickly taking away the target of the Muay Thai pads very quickly, acting like he can't make up his mind on where to have her attack.

Lucas Charles promptly offers Bubbles the jeers and boos. Having enough of Mad Dog Jackson's stink eye, Charles heads back to his training.

"Eight-thirty sounds fantastic. If you would like we can skip dinner. Bubble's seems to be showing you a lot of stand-up. Maybe I can help you become more well-rounded by showing you the basics of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Positions such as the half-guard, full guard, and of course the full mount."

Images of these various maneuvers appear on her commlink.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Three successive roundhouse kicks to the body finished off the workout. Bubbles noted the 180s pivot on her left ankle for each kick and the degree in which she hit the exercise pad. Vera was trying to cut through the pad with the momentum of her attack.

"Great. Just like I trained ye."

Bubbles encouraged her to work on her abdominal exercises and then stretch before heading out. Vera views her commlink. There is an incoming text from, Andrew Niccol.

<<"Greetings Lady Spider. Three potential runners have passed the screening process. They have viewed taken the first level of your message. I am sending you their profiles now. Once you verity, we'll send the second half of the encryption."

Downloading attached files.

Street Names: Icarus, White Tiger, and Babel.">>

Another screen from her commlink appeared in her vision. It was the picture of a red-headed elf with long hair tied back into a pony-tail. There was a digital display that read 13:30:00 hours. The set audio voice read the message for her.

"Hello Vera. You have a firearms training session with Harrison Dane. Scheduled for 13:30:00 hours at the Northern Vancouver Country Club and Firing Range.

Confirm or cancel?"

Her chest was heaving at the end. She grabbed her water bottle and towel and headed off to the showers and the changing room.

After finishing up she had a look at her commlink and found Andrew Niccol's message. She had a quick look through the files. Seemed like a competent group. They all seemed very professional.

<<The three applicants are verified. Give them the next module unencrypted: West Restaurant at 5.30PM, under the name of deBeers, wear a tie.>>

She quickly got dressed and was heading out when she got another message. This time from Harrison Dane.

<<Hi Harrison, this is to confirm the training session. I will be there as soon as I can. Depending on lunch-time traffic.>>

She still needed to pick out something to wear for the restaurant.

[Ooops Double post. See below.]

Monday, July 21st 2072. Around 09:00:00 Hours.
-Vancouver, Salish Shidhe Council.

Vancouver. One the former crown jewels of the western half of Canada, year 2000. In 2072 it was the pride and joy of the Salish Shidhe Council. Less traffic and stress then Birmingham. A better economy amongst other things over Spokane. Vancouver had always been known for his beautiful scenery, and natural resources. These truths still held true because of the influence of the Salish Shidhe. Where ever you were in the city, you could look around and see mountains ranging for miles. A reminder that mother nature had not been defeated in 2072.

On this Summer Monday morning. The weather is perfect. Mild yet warm. The sun gleaming outside but not to bright. A faint breeze which always seemed to come at the right moment. It all started with a morning meeting in the matrix. A woman coming in contact with a dark figure from her past. From there a message was sent to all of Vancouver's Shadow community. It reads the following.

<<Module for encryption>>
Seeking up to 3 Shadowrunners for a specialist infiltration job. Have to be locals or able to blend into the local populace in Vancouver. Seeking 1 Matrix specialist, 1 weapons specialist, 1 infiltration specialist. Medical expertise considered an advantage. The job will consist of two objectives which will be conducted over the course of the week. The reward for the mission will be 3,000 nuyen per person upon completion of both objectives. Location for possible meet supplied in second encrypted module.
<<Enclosed secondary module with restaurant location, time and which table.>>

********************************************************************************
*****************************************************

In a one bedroom apartment somewhere on the corner of Hamilton and Dunsmuir, the hacker known as Icarus is spending time in his dossier. In between jobs, he's been spending time improving his skills. That is why he was currently ingrained in two MMO RPGs. One was a product of the infamous Warhammer 60 K fantasy line, and the other a medieval fantasy realm inspired by the king of fantasy literature from the previous century, JR Tolkein.

Still playing his MMO, a picture pops up on his many commlink programs running. This picture takes the size of the entire chat window. Icarus curses because this icon which appeared caused him to get slaughtered by Kobolds in his fantasy MMO. Muttering under his breath he take the call. On the under end is a friendly face. Jimmy "Dark Star" Nakamura. A college buddy. Something worth holding onto. Nakamura's retinal clock display shows that it is night time in Kyoto.

<<"Rise and shine. Stumbled across this while searching through the Vancouver web system.">>


The information filters in.
Seeking up to 3 Shadowrunners for a specialist infiltration job. Have to be locals or able to blend into the local populace in Vancouver. Seeking 1 Matrix specialist, 1 weapons specialist, 1 infiltration specialist. Medical expertise considered an advantage. The job will consist of two objectives which will be conducted over the course of the week. The reward for the mission will be 3,000 nuyen per person upon completion of both objectives. Location for possible meet supplied in second encrypted module.


Nakamura continues.

<<Since your the second best matrix specialist I know. Thought you might like it. Now before you try, I already had a buddy of mine attempt to trace the comm-code number of the link sending the message. The trace relayed to God knows how many different stations and channels before we found it's incoming location. Right in the middle of Coal Harbour. The way this coding works is that you respond to the message and if whomever is on the other side of the line likes what you have to say and offer, they'll send you the password to defeat the second half of the encryption with location and time of the meet. That's it from my part. Still having trouble with the Manskinner and his cultist army in Warhammer 60K?">>

********************************************************************************
*****************************************************

Being new to the city. Babel is technically on vacation away from Seattle. But being a "professional" Shadowrunner if there is something worth your time, even a trip to the Kingdom of Hawaii would be thrown out the window. He is currently in Gastown viewing the inside of an exotic jewelry store. There is a lovely sales clerk who had just opened up the shop providing him with the phoniest smile nuyen can buy.

Babel spots an antique brooch made from the eye of a Wyvern in a display base guarded by motion sensors of all colors. It would look great on you. It would look great on your Shiawase two piece. Looking at the price tag however, makes you want to scream "Frag! That's bleeding expensive!"

Hey. The commlink is beeping. It's a ork. Great what does he want? Oh. It's a friendly ork. Spydrbyte, the hacker who Babel's Matrix Hoopla. He better not be bothering you about your fashion sense again. Spydrbyte as usual hides his face from you, showing only a silhouette or an ork body. His voice is deep. Michael McCary deep.

<<"Hoi pretty boy. Came across some local biz that sounded up your alley. Fancy dancy infiltration gig. Its from someone called "Spider." Figured since yer hoopla is in Vancouver ye could make yerself some extra money and possibly a street reputation. Expanding yer prospect into foreign territory means ye got more places to run where a run gets FUBAR. By the way some Dandellion eater is asking about ye here in Seattle, goes by the name of Durlan. Real stuck up type, sense he wants to cut of yer testicles and make ye eat them. I'll send him up right away. Hehehe. Just joking. Back to biz. Here ye go. The message. Just send a reply to the Spider and they'll get back to you with the password to unlock the second level of the encryption.">>

From A Spider.
Seeking up to 3 Shadowrunners for a specialist infiltration job. Have to be locals or able to blend into the local populace in Vancouver. Seeking 1 Matrix specialist, 1 weapons specialist, 1 infiltration specialist. Medical expertise considered an advantage. The job will consist of two objectives which will be conducted over the course of the week. The reward for the mission will be 3,000 nuyen per person upon completion of both objectives. Location for possible meet supplied in second encrypted module.

********************************************************************************
******************************************************

Seven-foot Dryads in the awakened world are few and far between. Especially Yakuza Dryads. Those yaks have been called the Humanis Policlub of the far east by some sociologists. Red Wolf says to himself. "Heh Sociologists, what the heck do they know?" The yaks in Seattle were hit very badly in the past year. They had lost their position of power as the alpha dog in Seattle. In Vancouver they were number three on the criminal world totem poll. Behind the Elf Mafia and Triads. Red Wolf is in the Purple Crane Tea House, located somewhere in Downtown. He fiddles with his cougar fineblade, in graving his name in one of the wooden tables.

A Asian man in a sharp white business suit walks in. White suit? You have to be kidding me? Does he want to get sniped by a Knight Errant special ops officer? Oh it's Ishiguro. Fuck. With his reputation, he could wear a pink and black spotted suit around town and get away with it. Followed by his entourage, Ishiguro makes his way over to Red Wolf. He doesn't smile. He never smiles at you, despite the fact that Red is one of his golden boys within the syndicate.

He takes a seat across from you. I do hope you stood up when he walked over, and you did a proper bow, which ducked below his. After the pleasentries, he gets down to the reason why he is here.

"Red Wolf - San. One of my associates within the business world informed me of this message which was posted on the Vancouver BB for deniable assets. He told me that he had a vested interest in this particular case and called in one of the favors that I owe him. I present you with a great opportunity. See what this Johnson wants, and help them achieve their job if they will have you. Do this for me old friend, and I'll be grateful."

He gives you the same message as the other three receive.

The information filters in.
Seeking up to 3 Shadowrunners for a specialist infiltration job. Have to be locals or able to blend into the local populace in Vancouver. Seeking 1 Matrix specialist, 1 weapons specialist, 1 infiltration specialist. Medical expertise considered an advantage. The job will consist of two objectives which will be conducted over the course of the week. The reward for the mission will be 3,000 nuyen per person upon completion of both objectives. Location for possible meet supplied in second encrypted module.


You reply to the message and if the Johnson likes what you have to say, you'll get the second password to unlock the other portion of the letter with location and time of the meet.

Monday, July 21st 2072. Around 09:00:00 Hours.
-Vancouver, Salish Shidhe Council.

Kendall wanders the ahop, looking over the other wares. He chats politely with the Sales girl in a Scottish brogue. Pretending to see the brooch for the first time, he says" On mae sweet Mudders grave, Tha is a beaut.Tho' na as sweet as yew, lassy, "
He winks at the sales girl and examines the peice more clearly, letting his cybereyes examine and record the piece in detail.At holidays end I may be bick ta bouy it for ye if yer flash me another one o those smiles He winks at the young lass and biid her good day.

Stepping on to the street, He opens a text file and transfers his "resume" from the hidden comm and composes a letter.
Text message:
<< I am in the area and am interested in the infiltration specialist position in your endeavor. A summary of my skills and experience is enclosed. I'm afraid I have no medical knowledge. however, my education covers a variety of other fields. Thank you for the consideration and I await your decision. I would appreciate a reply if my skills don't fit what you are looking for, and in the event of that happening please feel free to keep my resume for any work that may turn up in the future. Sincerely, Babel >>
Setting off for the hotel he thought to himself " Now where can I find an honest forger?" Whistling to himself he enters the hotel and sets about organizing his working gear. One way or another, he had a job to do.....

Monday, July 21st 2072. Around 09:00:00 Hours.
-Vancouver, Salish Shidhe Council.

Yamashita takes in the atmosphere of the tea house the Asian theme soothing to his soul, the place had felt like a home away from home and as a Dryad he was feeling attuned to the place, as his friend Ishiguro comes within view he elegantly spins the blade in his hand and sheath it. In one smooth motion he stands up and offers a deep bow that really put a strain on his back as it was hard for a man of his size to bow low enought to show proper respect to Ishiguro.

As they both returned to there seats Yamashita casually rests a hand on his priced katana, a weapon he always brought with him wherever he went, he listens with great interests before giving a soft nod "it sounds like a interesting job and if a good friend like you are bringing it to me it would be a dishonour for me not to accept, I will forward a answer and see if I can do my best" He stands up grabbing his sword and gives another deep bow before walking out of the tea house texting on his commlink

<< I Red Wolf would be greatly honoured to serv as your weapons specailist durring this mission, tho my skills in medicine are limited my blade is your to command should you have me on your team>>

Yamashita steps into his car and drives back to his hotel thinking he might meditate and prepare himself for the meeting ahead

<<Dark! Even though you always pick the worst times to call, it's always good to hear from you. Hang on a sec and let me run back to my corpse.>>

Sliding the call over to the side of his awareness, Icarus clears enough space in his view to get the medieval fighter on track to where his pincushion-like remains lay, and lets the AI take over for a minute. As confident as he can be in the dodgy AI of that particular game, Icarus moves the call back central to his view.

<<You are right, that is an interesting bit of work. And the trace ended up in the middle of the harbor? Heh. Could it be? A Johnson who knows what he is doing? Well, at least that should diminish the chances of the run going completely tits up, eh? Thanks for the tip. And as for Manskinner...Man, if they hadn't nerfed Guardsmen to hell and back with the last patch, I would have beaten him weeks ago. Also, SOME of us play this game to have fun, and not hack the hell out of their characters. Besides, I could walk up there with my hacked level 99 Inquisitor and destroy the place, but where's the fun in that. Now if you ask me...>>

After a few more minutes of BSing about the vulgarities of Tyranids and the general worthlessness of the Tau, Icarus got to work crafting his reply to the ad...while simultaneously slaughtering the legions of the Kobold menace Fangtooth.

<<Spider: I see you are looking for a Matrix specialist. I have a degree in Matrix Science from MIT&T, as well as several years of on the job experience in the field in which you are inquiring. I am one of the best of the best here in Vancouver. I am eagerly awaiting your reply. On a more personal note, I would like to know how you managed to waterproof a commlink well enough to survive the saltwater environment of the harbor. Thank you. Icarus.>>

Still chuckling proudly to himself over that last line, he mentally hits send on the message, and goes back to his game.

Monday, July 21st 2072. Around 16:30:00-17:15:00 Hours.
-Vancouver, Salish Shidhe Council.

Icarus, Red Wolf, and Babel receive a reply from a user name Spiritus who provides them with a password to unlock the second level of the encryption. The second half of the message reads the following.

<<West Restaurant at 5.30PM, under the name of deBeers, wear a tie.>>

Wear a tie. Wear a suit. A tuxedo works. In other words look nice. No birthday suits with nothing but a tie, unless you want to be sent home by the staff and then pulled over by Knight Errant. It was embarrassing on your birthday. It'll be even worse right now.

********************************************************************************
******************

The West Restaurant. When the three of you approach an augmented realilty display provides each of you with a website to view.

http://www.westrestaurant.com/

Not to shabby. There is no line this early in the evening. But the staff on hand is still alert, professional, busy, and energetic during the downtime. This holds especially true for the eight foot -- three-hundred-ninety pound Cyclops named Cyrus. Cyrus has a street reputation for collecting elven ears, breaking the spines of orks, making large trolls cry, humans wet their pants, and ripping entire beards off dwarfs with one pull and grab.

He's in a good mood tonight. That means he's only going to ask you to assume the position and go through a ten minute search. Afterwords he has two other security staff members scan each of you with two large MAD Scanners.



Cyrus grunts upon meeting you and grunts after you go through security.

A Maitre'D or a Asian Hostess greets the three runners and when the drop the name "DeBeers" they are pointed towards a table in the corner of the restaurant. The table's view is blocked by a troll, think of a large buddaha, but this one ain't smiling, when you walk toward him and give him your street name, he steps aside.

Good luck boys. It's time to meet your Miss Johnson. Hope you didn't wear a clip on.

It had been a shame Harrison cancelling only five minutes after she had arrived at the gun club. Apparently one of Harrison's simsense co-starlets had had a mental meltdown and was now in need of attention from everyone. This of course meant that the director and producer were on set which in turn meant all the cast and crew had to be there.


Vera looked at her watch for the second time. It was 5.27 PM and the restaurant was still relatively empty. Next to her was an untouched flute of champagne. It was the chef's birthday today and everyone was getting a taste. Her coffee, a nice Yukatan blend, was a perfect mixture of milk and coffee. She wondered where was the rest of her Shadowrunners. Would they be early like she was or would they be late.

Vera was dressed in a non-descript actioneer business suit and for once was wearing suit pants. She decided that if she was going to be a Johnson, she would be how she expected Johnson's to be: professional, direct, and discreet. She had AR overlays of the targets ready and waiters with the corporate menus ready. The white noise generator was what finished it off as being both discreet and professional.

Bubbles was also there, a troll who could make eating solids for the rest of one's lifetime a luxury and also send word out which would be poison for any Shadowrunner. She also had oher such contacts. There was also an issue of face. They had all come recommended and no-one likes to be told of handing over a fugesi.

Glancing at the time in the corner of his vision, Babel, notes that he has about 3 hours to get ready. This part of the job was always the toughest for him. Meeting a new J was always a crap shoot. If he tried something a little flashy to make an impression, it could back fire and make him look like an attention hound. on the other hand if he just showed up trying to be a ice cold pro could sour the deal because the J was expecting to see something flashy.
After a quick matrix search to get a feel for the restaraunts decor. He had an idea. The J had been very professional so far, the meet was as much an interview as a face to face. He would go with a little flash then. After all they did request an Infiltration Specialist. He spent the next hour diigging up photos of people enjoying themselves inside the West Restaurant looking for the dress code of the wait staff. there wasn't time to plan a proper sneak in so he would have to go in the front and pull his presto switcheroo after he was inside.


. Luckily, Poofy pants were in style again. He chose a conservative pearlescent burgundy with a lace trimmed coat,white shirt and an accenting tie that swirled and rotated in AR. A simple spiked wig and a little work with some latex make up and he was ready. He added a Bowler at the last minute with a beaded band. Beneath that he wore the simple tuxedo that the wait staff seemed to wear.Looking over his weapons he decided to pass. The bouncers he had seen in the P20 feeds looked very competent.

He put in an order for his apparel and paid the extra 200 new yen for the 1 hour drone delivery.

Requesting a Reservation at 1630 at the West in Andre Whipple's name,He Showered and while awaiting his attire.sent a copy of the recording of the pretty brooch to Spydrbyte to see if he knew anyone in Vancouver who could discreetly make a replica of the shiney bauble...



He is just finishing up when the cab arrives to drop him a block from the West at 1615...

Icarus drove past the restaurant in his gunmetal grey Shin-Hyung at about 5:00 pm, and seeing no line out the door, parked about a block away and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, but was, according to his AR atomic clock, 10 minutes, he stepped out of the car and walked down the street to the club.

Straightening his tie and suit jacket, and adjusting the Ares Predator in his concealed holster, Icarus walked up to the door of the restaurant and went inside...directly into the waiting arms of Cyrus. Icarus looked up at the burly bouncer, smiled and said "Good evening. I'm a bit early for my 5:30 reservation, and would like to just wait at the bar." Cyrus simply smiled, and motioned for Icarus to submit to a search. After a moment, Cyrus pulls the handgun from it's holster, and waggles his finger at Icarus. Icarus shrugs, and with a half smile says No? Ah well, it was worth a shot. Do I at least get a claim ticket for it? It was a gift from my mother after all. She wanted me to stay safe on these mean streets."

Getting his ticket, Icarus waits at the bar, sending a quick text to the bartender <<I'll have a single malt scotch that's old enough to order its own single malt scotch. Neat, no ice.>> and attached to it is a 20 tip. <<I'm meeting some friends here under a reservation for DeBeers. Do you happen to know where they will be seating us?>>

After that, Icarus then proceeds to scan the Matrix in the area looking for any commcodes that his commlink recognizes, just in case.




Then, as his AR clock reaches 5:29:00, he stands, takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "Alright. Get your face on...It's game time." Icarus walks over to the troll, and says Good evening. My name is Icarus, and I believe I had a 5:30 appointment with DeBeers?"

Wolf smiled at the tie notion, to him that was like telling a construction worker to wear a hard hat, or a motorcycle race to wear his protective suit. He would spend the rest of the day in his hotel room practising a few swings of his sword before taking a few hours meditating as he always did before a meeting like this.

As the time grew closer he freshens up and gets dressed in his typical runners attire, he starts of with his form fitting half body armour hugging every inch of his body making it quite a seductive attire as no detail of his body was left to peoples imagination, he finish up the look with a white Synergist Business Shirt, black slacks, white silk gloves and a black silk tie with a red wolf head staring ferociously. Finally he grabs his Katana and puts on his fitting black longcoat.


Roughly at 5:20 PM Wolf parks in the restaurant parking lot with his wine red Ford Spiral 115Ti, he walks over with a smile to the entrance every step aggressive yet elegant like a tiger prowling his territory. He bows to Cyrius and gives him a glamours smile "greetings, I have a reservation at 5:30 PM with a person named deBeers", a smile that quickly faded as Cyrius demands his sword. At first Wolf would argue calling out Cyrius dishonour for robbing him of his soul but finally hands it over giving Cyrius a look telling him if he didn´t have his sword back when he left even a man of the Cyclops statue would know fear.

Wolf sights and heads to the bar as well ordering some sake to re freshen his spirit, as the clock struck 5:25 he transfers the pay and slips of to the table and walks over to the troll giving him a bow suitable for what oviusly was a servant of the Johnson

"greetings I´m Red Wolf, I have a appointment with DeBeers"

Vera sits behind the table, Bubbles lets past the two Shadowrunners with a narrowing of the eyes.

"Good evening gentlemen. My name is Spider and I am your Johnson for tonight. Champagne? We are still waiting for one of your compatriots to show up."

She does purse her lips when Babel comes with the champagne, but pays no more heed to him.

Wolf bows even deeper for Spider before taking a seat, he unbuttons his longcoat and shakes it of his shoulders and lets it rest squeezed between himself and his seat. He looks her over his feline like eyes scanning every inch of her body like a predator eyeing out another predator, a mix of his Glamour and slightly pale Dermal Sheath gives him a mysterious yet haunting beauty, the kind that his left him few nights without company in bed should he chose to bring some home.

As she offers champagne he raises his hand to give her a no to her question "No thanks miss Spider, I´m a bit of a traditionalist so if I am to drink anything it´s a cup of tea or a well made sake" he smiles softly and leans back deciding to use the time to take in the atmosphere and take in his impression of the Johnson.

Babel scans the room. Two men and a Woman in a suit sit at the table. He places the champagne on the table and fades to the side,as a waiter would. He takes a second to look over the essembled runners. The tall Elf had to be the muscle, his movements were smooth,controlled, and his elven eyes scanned the room with a cool confidence. The guy next to him was easier to pin down. He reminded Babel of the MatSci students at SU. A common knickname for hacker students was "Ghosts" because you rarely saw them and they were all thin,pale and a little spacey. The last person was an attractive elf woman in a suit. She held herself like a Professional. When he had set the bottle down he thought she may have been on to him and that worried him.
"Good evening gentlemen. My name is Spider and I am your Johnson for tonight. Champagne? We are still waiting for one of your compatriots to show up."

"Now for the tricky part" Babel thought.

Stepping up to the table He addresses Ms. Johnson "I complement your security arrangements, Mademoiselle. It has been some time since I have had to push the limits of my abilities to such an extent. Although words are my forte,I felt that actions would ease any doubts as to my abilities in this situation. I am Babel. Drawing a quick breathe he continues May I sit?

Icarus slips past the troll, and walks to the table.

A lady Johnson! Well, if there isn't a first time for everything... Icarus thinks, and then instinctively snaps a photo of her with his cyber eyes, and uploads it to his link, and immediately starts searching for a match online.



He looks to the left and sees the elf sitting there. Icarus nods slightly as he takes his seat. Note to self: Stay on this guy's good side. He looks like he could take a bullet or two.

Turning to the Johnson, he smiles as the champagne is offered. "No thank you, Ms. Johnson." as he raises his mostly full glass of scotch, "I have come prepared."

Unbuttoning his suit jacket and settling into his seat, Icarus watches as the waiter then introduces himself as the third runner. Shaking his head and sighing slightly to himself, he goes back to his search, waiting for any results to pop up before engaging too much in the conversation.

Vera was dressed in an azure Actioneer Business suit with a cream colored straight shirt. Her hair was done up and coiffed into weave around her head ending losse curles that loosely flowed down the front of her shoulder. She was obviously an elf and had the look that many simstars carefully cultivated; a natural beauty that was hard not to notice. She looked familiar, but Icarus was not quite sure who she reminded him of.

She was wearing designer AR glasses that most hid her eyes from everyone else. If those eyes showed signs of surprise with Babel it did not flow into her face.

"Please take a seat.. Mr. Babel. Not much passes by my bodyguard so that was an excellent show if a bit flamboyant."

She smiled and waved over a waiter. This time a real waiter came by looked at Babel, if a bit askance and handed out menus.



"I recommend the soup as the first course, it's quite delicious."

The waiter looked at Vera for a moment before sliding away. She turned on the little white noise generator on the table that looked like a glass paperweight.

"I hope everyone has their AR on? Most of the conversation will be held over AR and hence invisible to anyone else and more importantly not as obvious to the rest of the patrons."

On the AR side folders appear in front of everyone. They are still purple as if they had not been fully rezzed yet.

<<I think introductions are in order so that we may work well. You can call me Spider. I am the Johnson on this mission. Let's keep this professional and honest. I will brief you on the details of the mission and we can talk about payment afterwards.>>

Wolf looks over the crowd gathered around the table, the first to join was quite a interesting person and he was curious what role he would play in this mission, the last runner to join was easy to spot his role, it was clear he would be the teams hacker and Wolf´s curiosity was more aimed at if he was combat effective or not should the time come for that.


He turns his attention to Spider as the message pops up and quickly response.

<<I´m Red Wolf, weapon specialist of the old melee school tho my hands are equally skilled in throwing blades, if miss finds me worthy of your task my blade will be your to wield as you wish, I can be as subtle as a prowling tiger or as ferocious as a hungry wolf>>

His response was short and to the point, they where here for business after all not to chit chat about the latest music or talk about the weather tho he took the time to look at the menu finding the sake braised berkshire pork cheeks very appealing.

Icarus took and menu and looked it over, giving his data search program a little more time to search before being forced to push it into the background. "Eggplant and cumin soup, you say? That IS a very intriguing combination. I will have to take your recommendation, Ms. Johnson."

Seeing the ping of a text message pop up on his firewall, Icarus pushes the data search off to the background of his conciousness, allowing it to run by itself. I'll have to check out the results later, once this is all finished. Gotta know more about Johnson than they know about you, after all. But I swear I've seen her before... Ehn. I've seen so many variants on the 'hot elf chick' that they all seem to blend together nowadays.

Analyzing the incoming message, and tracing it back to the lady sitting across from him was a trivial task. Setting his link to accept messages from her and the runners collected around the table, Icarus composes his message.

<<Good evening. My name is Icarus. I'll be running Matrix Security for us.>>

Pouring a half glass of champagne, Babel sits down. He gives a friendly nod to his fellow runners He looks the menu over and quickly decides on his choices. " I agree the soup sounds wonderful. I'll have that and the pork , and finish with the pomegranate salad,please.

Sampling the Champagne, He subscribes his commlink,taped to his right wrist, and sends his introduction.
<< Hoi, chums. I'm called Babel, a nickname i picked up in college. To keep things brief, I speak 9 languages with a matter of fluency and have a varied background in academic and security related subjects. However, my main skills lie in the infiltration field. I am proficient with most firearms and can drive or pilot a watercraft. That about sums me up. I look forward to working with you.>>

Vera blinks and the folders rez themselves.

<<These are the two targets.>>

<<The first target is a member of the White Tiger Triads. His name is Lawrence Wong. He is currently in the Crash Cart's intensive care unit in Richmond, Salish Sidhe. He was admitted there as of this morning and will be staying there until his wounds heal. Judging by him still being in ICU, he has suffered multiple organ failure. A group sought to have him assassinated and is now fallen on us to clean up the mess.>>



<<From what I understand he is quite high up in the White Tiger Triads. Any connection would mean they will start asking questions, which will eventually lead to us. There is also a possiblity that this may cause gang warfare if the triads say linked it to another organization. MOst ICUs have a 10-20% mortality rate, let's try to have Mr Wong as one of the statistics. Ideas on that front?>>

<<The second target is a socialite and libertine, Tarek Belanger. I do not know much more about him, but I will be finding further information tonight.>>



<<I was thinking on running a honey trap and see if he can be caught that way. Again further information is most helpful.>>

<<The connection between these two is a new type of BTL chip, my employer would like to acquire that BTL chip.>>

<<Any questions?>>

Wold raises a eyebrow at the first target.

<< I myself are a Yakuza member and I know a Yakuza boss, I might reach out and see if I can arange a reason to get past security, posibly under the alibi of paying respect to the wounded man>>

he orders the food and takes his time to think of a good way to use his connections to help the team leavingg him looking zoned out to the others.